LOL coldtits - how very true.
I'd like to see all religious teaching to under 16s banned because youngsters (in the main) have no options or alternatives - they are indoctrinated, and I'd agree, brainwashed into thinking theirs is the correct (if not 'best' or 'only') faith, and everyone else is wrong.
So many wars are the result of disputes between groups believing the others are enemies, in a large part, because they have 'bad' beliefs. OK, there may be other aspects to disputes, but we've seen quite a lot in recent years, from Bosnia to Nigeria and as for the Middle East, clashes between groups even under the umbrella of Islam, when it comes to factions in Baghdad, not only do Shi'ite clash with Shia groups, but there are disputes between Shi'ite and other Shi'ite groups!
All these man-made rules seem to me to have roots in wanting power and to quell unruly elements. After all, much of what goes down as gospel is to do with belief in one God above anything else, the bringing of gifts or money, and on the flip-side, that failure to be good or accept their (man made) rules will lead to eternal damnation, in Hell.
How convenient that if there are any non-believers, they are outcasts and unworthy, or, if there get to be sufficient numbers, then they are wrong and (to put not too fine a point on it) deserve all they get!
Sorry, to me it is guff and twaddle. It is as close to brainwashing as you can get, legally, when one is expected to believe in some invisible, omnipotent, all encompassing being, without anything other than parents and "elders and betters" telling you that's the truth.
Spidermama - it should not be for a parent to need to "counter it at home" when "the system" seems unable to cater for non-believers, while respecting every other belief is acceptable. Unless it is considered a 'cult' of course, or pagan.
I'm really not interested in religion and have not studied it, so would fail to give well rehearsed cases in most any "argument" or deep discussion on religious matters.
I was brought up as a Catholic, with a strongly Catholic mother (having converted from being Methodist so she could marry her first husband, age 18). Having been married, become a mother and then widowed, age 19, in the early stages of the Second World War, my mother later married my father, who was not Catholic.
My primary school was attached to the R.C. church, about 100 metres from our home. When my father died, I went away to a Masonic boarding school, where I was the only Catholic, didn't attend their Sunday service, and was expected to go outside the school to the nearby Catholic church, though I personally had no wish/ interest. Back in Sussex, after quitting the boarding school, and going into a CofE Grammar school, I was going towards the church in time for the evening service and said to my Mum that I wasn't going to attend.
We enjoyed an hour or more simply walking along the canal discussing religion, and she knew I was simply not persuaded by any "facts" that there was a God, and the matter never came up again between us. There was a service in memory of her at her local church, following her death (not a funeral - her body had been donated for medical research), I was the only person not in the church, but spent my time in the hall, ensuring everything was ready for tea and sandwiches, for the attendees.
As you can see, despite the strength of her feelings, my mum was able to accept that her beliefs were not shared by me. Perhaps because she was a convert and had given up one religion for another, she could see the world has many shades of grey, rather than a simple yes/no to a specific religion being 'correct'.
I am fairly happy to accept anyone can believe what they like, so long as they don't (1) harm others, or be forceful - eg some cults, and (2) accept that others may have different views. Anyone who expects they can use verbal or other force to express their opinions and expect others to accept them are not welcomed by me, and their views would be rejected in the strongest manner possible.